Category Archives: Uncategorized

60 – Man Hands on Misery to Man – Fujimori Part One (incomplete draft)

Key moments in the seventh most corrupt dictatorship in recent history, or as his supporters say, the reign of “the Greatest President Peru has Ever Had”. Currently less than half way through his 25 year jail term for running death … Continue reading

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61 – It Deepens Like a Coastal Shelf -Fujimori Part Two (draft)

Countdown to an uncertain future September 2016 to December 2017 … read more …

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74 – Stones in the landscape

We know that in the Andean world of the Incas, horizon alignments and sun shadows were an important part of their rituals. Machu Picchu and Cusco, together with many Inca carved stones and huacas around Cusco, are considered to have important … Continue reading

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76 – Seasonal Festivals

There were three important times for the Misminay community in the Andes close to Cusco, according to Gary Urton – harvest in April, planting in June, close to the reappearance of the Pleiades, and the coming of the rains in October. Urton links … Continue reading

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98 – Watering the desert for a thousand years

Ten million people living on a coastal plain where it never rains – that is the paradox of Lima – the biggest desert city, some say, after Cairo, after Las Vegas. And yet there are green parks in every district. … Continue reading

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102-Trumpets and dancing

It was on my fourth visit across the river that I found the latest figure, low down and dark, almost invisible, on the Pariacaca rock. By viewing the surface rock in the reflection of the sun, only possible close to … Continue reading

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Kubelka Munk revisited

My first attempts to derive some quantitative estimate of age from the brightness of the images on the rocks of Rio Mala used the Kublenka Munk theory for a thin layer of material described by its coefficients of absorbance and … Continue reading

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16 – Varayoks and the Staff God

Proponents of the Cochineros images as primarily representing Inca aggression point to figures which could suggest ritual sacrifice. There are several human figures on the stones of Chincheros with objects which some have considered tumis, sometimes holding llamas by a … Continue reading

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17 – Tupus from Lurin to Yauyos

There is a similar complexity to the positions of tupus, shawl pins, in South American history and pre-history. Long pins are seen on the engravings of Guaman Pomar de Ayala, a native Peruvian born shortly after the Spanish invasion of … Continue reading

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Under the volcano once again

In the lobby of the World Trade Centre four leading Mexican furniture companies have built a brick wall with the face of Donald Trump looking down on vistors – portrayed with orange hair, a clown’s red nose and a cigarette … Continue reading

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001 – Introduction

The writings on this site are like the beggining of the solution of a jigsaw puzzle. There may be areas where the picture begins to emerge, a branch of the tree or some roots, but it is unlikely that you … Continue reading

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Jauja, land of hats

My first morning in Jauja, I needed a hat to shade me from the sun. To my surprise, I found a store just outside the hotel – “Specialista en sombreros de todos partes”. hatshats hats Walking the streets in my … Continue reading

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Time to pay for the duck say Brazilians

17 April 2016 – Paulista, the main business street in the centre of Brazil’s commercial capital Sao Paulo, is packed with thousands wearing green and yellow shirts and facepaint, or draped in Brazilian flags, and gathered at the focal point … Continue reading

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Still seeking justice on state sterilisations

“They falsified the signature of my husband and it does not match his identity card.” says Felicitas from Cuzco. “They lied that they authorised the sterilisation that took place without my consent. I never accepted. They put me under anaesthetic … Continue reading

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No stopping Brazil’s Car Wash clean-up

For three days here on the streets of São Paulo the people have been expressing their views on the future of Brazil. On Wednesday street demonstrators called for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. On Thursday another crowd gathered to say “No … Continue reading

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Time for a change in Buenos Aires

At one end of the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, within sight of the Presidential Palace, Pablo is discreetly offering passers-by “change…cambio…dollars”. “You understand this is the “blue” rate, not official,” he explains as we walk down a narrow … Continue reading

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Fish murals fighting gang warfare

The Plaza del Matrix is a tidy little paved square with benches in front of the cathedral church in wedding cake pink and white. The square is flanked by colonial buildings with freshly painted yellow plaster walls, colonnades and upper … Continue reading

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Time to tango for Argentine business

The Tango, invented in Buenos Aires, is a taut, teasing, intricate dance for two. And foreign businesses looking for opportunities in Argentina can soon find themselves taking the first steps in their own version of Argentina’s national dance. Because in … Continue reading

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Drought hit Brazil seeks solar power

For three years Brazil has been hit by power cuts, hurting business and creating headaches for the government. The reason – Brazil put all its energy eggs in the hydroelectric basket. 65% of its energy should come from hydroelectric power, … Continue reading

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Clock ticking for lead fuelled crime wave

Crime levels in Lima will start to fall in six to eighteen months – whoever wins next the upcoming elections. Between end June 2016 and end June 2017, the wave of shootings, street attacks, house robbery and murder will decline. Whether or … Continue reading

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